Car Review: 2008 BMW M Coupe

The BMW M Coupe is a delight to drive.

BMW, handout

Sound and fury to make you sweat

by
Graeme Fletcher, Canwest News Service | August 10, 2011

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Standing beside the M Coupe, the average driver, someone, say, around six feet tall, dwarfs the car. At just 1,271 millimetres from road to roofline, it’s diminutive in its dimensions (although the low-slug stance is sublime).Slip behind the wheel and, while the cabin is undeniably cozy, it has more than enough room for said driver. The Coupe is the type of car that melds man and machine in much the same way as a hand and well-tailored glove become one.

The reason most drivers get rather sweaty (I did) around the M Coupe is the sound the 3.2-litre in-line six makes at idle < it promises so much. Drop the hammer and the 330 horsepower whisks the riders from rest to 100 kilometres an hour in five seconds flat and it turns the 80-to-120-km/h run in 4.4 seconds, which is world class. A big reason for the blinding performance is that each of the stallions is only required to move 4.4 kilograms of automobile.

This, however, only tells part of the M’s power story. As 80% of the 262 pound-feet of peak torque is available from 2,000 rpm, the power band is plateau-like. Stand on the gas in fourth gear (the best gear in town) and the engine pulls in a stronger manner than a lesser car pulls in third.

The six-speed manual gearbox is also perfectly tailored to the engine because of the right blend of ratios. First through fourth gears are all about speed, while fifth and sixth ease highway cruising. It also allows the driver to pick off the gear quickly < the throws are short, the gate is well defined and the clutch is light and progressive. The upshot is a car that is actually enjoyable to drive in traffic. Usually, the constant shifting becomes a royal pain.

Of the buttons dotted around the cabin, the most important is mounted on the centre console. It clicks in the Sport mode, which changes the engine’s operating characteristics dramatically. In a nutshell, it alters the relationship between the gas pedal and the throttle. With the Sport mode off, the engine is progressive (it requires a fairly large input to get the engine to perform). Activate the Sport mode and the tip-in is aggressive. On a twisty back road, it’s the only way to go as it brings an adrenalin-inducing immediacy to the drive.

The M Coupe’s handling is as prodigious as its power. Riding on front struts, rear multiple links and anti-roll bars at both ends, the car’s cornering ability is beyond reproach. The chassis is incredibly stiff and large P225/45ZR18 front and oversized P255/40ZR18 rear tires provide seemingly endless grip. Throw in the laser-like precision of the steering, a variable electronic rear differential lock and perfect front-to-rear weight distribution (50.2/49.8) and the M feels like it pivots around your bottom whenever it’s tossed into a corner. Few cars are quite as well dialled in.

The M Coupe’s brakes are just as impressive. The two-piece, cross-drilled rotors banish fade as they haul the car to rest from 100 km/h in just 34 metres. Along with the anti-lock brakes comes a very good stability control system. In keeping with the M brand’s sporty approach, it waits in the wings until the last possible moment so the driver is allowed to have a lot of fun before it reins things in. It can also be turned off. Normally, turning the system off might be considered foolhardy; in the M’s case, when the back end does break away, it’s easy to catch because driver and car feel and function as one.

Inside, the M’s cozy cabin (it is barely 1,500 mm between the door handles, a good chunk of which is commanded by the central tunnel) is exquisitely tailored, but it’s a little skimpy on the creature comforts considering the price ($68,900). Power seats, for example, are part of the $2,800 Premium package. The good news is that along with the body-hugging buckets comes a stand-alone THX certified audio system ($1,200). The sound is symphonic in nature, although it remained off whenever the drive turned serious. The exhaust note is just too rewarding when the hammer is down.

The cabin’s cozy nature also means storage is at a premium. There’s precious little interior storage space and the trunk will carry only 8.6 cubic feet of stuff, which is barely enough for a dirty weekend. Likewise, if you’re planning on stopping for a coffee, don’t bother < the cup holders that spring out of the dash are just not up to the job.

The BMW M Coupe is the type of car that nobody actually needs because the space compromise is just too big. However, it is the type of car many covet judging by the volume of green-eyed glances flashed my way whenever I was out for a drive. On that note, the driving pleasure derived from this car has to be experienced first-hand to be fully appreciated. In a word, it is awesome.National Post